After India, another Asian ally of the United States has defected, indicating the purchase of Russian energy.
Philippine President Marcos Jr. said in an exclusive interview with “Bloomberg” that due to the aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and the lack of a basis for the Philippine peso to appreciate, the Philippine government must step up its efforts to deal with inflation. Authorities are now in talks with countries such as Russia to buy energy and other commodities to diversify supplies of vital resources such as fuel, food, feed and fertilizers and keep prices down.
Philippine President Marcos Jr. was interviewed by Bloomberg. Photo from Bloomberg’s official website.
When asked about the sanctions against Russia brought about by the Russian-Ukrainian war, Marcos admitted that the political aspect will be more difficult, but in any case, national interests must take priority, and the Philippines is about to reach an agreement with these countries. He reiterated that the government will not tolerate a situation where people are unable to buy necessities such as food, electricity and water.
“Bloomberg” added that the above remarks were made after Marcos met with US President Biden during the United Nations General Assembly.
As Biden and his ally G7 leaders try to push for more national sanctions and isolate Russia, Marcos Jr.’s remarks reflected the dilemma facing many leaders in developing countries, worried about potential political Consequences, but also fear of rising prices, making people into poverty.
Marcos Jr. meets U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. AP picture.
According to comprehensive foreign media reports, the Philippines is facing severe economic challenges. As the country has long relied on imports of products such as oil and wheat. Commodity prices have soared since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, coupled with a strong dollar and a slumping peso, the country’s consumer price index rose 6.4% year-on-year in July, hitting a new high since October 2018. While inflation eased slightly to 6.3% in August, it was still well above the central bank’s 2% to 4% target. The Philippine central bank recently announced its fifth interest rate hike of the year, raising the benchmark interest rate to 4.25 percent to curb inflation.
In order to fulfill his campaign promises and ensure food sufficiency, Marcos Jr. announced on June 20 that he would also serve as Minister of Agriculture. He described the continued rise in food prices driven by “external forces” and that being the agriculture secretary would help him return to the foundations of Philippine agriculture, restructure the value chain and increase food self-sufficiency.
Looking through the information, Marcos Jr. was previously a member of the Agriculture and Food Committee of the Philippine Senate. He once criticized the government’s “import-oriented policy” on agricultural products and neglect of agriculture, which caused food prices to often get out of control.
It is worth noting that the Philippines has traditionally been an ally of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. The relationship between the two countries can be traced back to the late 19th century, when the Philippines became a colony of the United States after the Spanish Revolution and the two wars between the United States and the United States and the Philippines.
Some analysts believe that today, little Marcos is learning from India, buying Russian energy, and not following his big brother, the United States. He believes that it will attract more developing countries to follow suit, and the sanctions in Europe and the United States will fall like dominoes. In fact, sanctions are already in name only. U.S. media earlier quoted senior U.S. officials to confirm that Saudi Arabia, as a major oil-producing and exporting country, is increasing its efforts to buy Russian oil for domestic power generation, and the freed up Saudi oil is sold to Europe for a good price. In other words, even if price caps or other sanctions are introduced in the future, Russia will be able to export energy in this way.
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